


The Steel Flower

by callunavulgari



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist
Genre: Hospitalization, Kissing, M/M, Poetry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-19
Updated: 2013-08-19
Packaged: 2017-12-23 23:37:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/932430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callunavulgari/pseuds/callunavulgari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roy keeps Edward company during his stay at the hospital. Poetry readings are had, much to Ed's chagrin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Steel Flower

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tierfal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tierfal/gifts).



> Written for Tierfal for a kissing meme; collarbone kiss. Fun fact, that poem is from poetrysoup, written by Rachel Couvillon and is called Steel Flower. Found by googling the words 'steel epic poems' because I'm classy like that and wanted something sappy about steel (even if I don't think that's what automail is necessarily made of?) The whole poem is actually eerily close to what I was looking for, and screams Ed at me, but eh.

"'— _My wounds bandaged with metal – not gauze, I became resistant to the breeze. Nothing seemed to put my soul at ease_ '—here, seriously Edward, you should really look at this. It's like she knows you personally."  
  
Edward is still giving him the same look, his face hardly changed from the faintly incredulous mask that it had settled into when Roy sat down on his bed with a book of poetry. He had tried insisting that poetry was proven to heal the soul, but the kid had guessed (rightly so) that he was fucking with him, and just stared at him until Roy shrugged and started to read.  
  
"' _But I chose life over death and continued to take in deep breaths. While no longer so easily swayed, I haven’t lost all of my old ways. I’ve learned it’s not always wise to hide and have come to embrace both sides_ —'" Here Roy leers a bit, waggling his eyebrows and it's that that finally breaks Ed's staring contest with his forehead. He sneers, lunging for the book—  
  
And misses, Roy's hand thwaping him in the middle of his forehead. Ed snarls, and Roy tuts at him, wagging a finger under his nose. "You'll miss the best part though! Here—" he shifts the book so he's holding it open against Ed's forehead, shamefully taking advantage of the fact that his flesh arm is in a cast and the metal one cannot currently reach past his shoulder. He clears his throat.  
  
"Where was I? Ah. ' _I’ve learned it’s not always wise to hide and have come to embrace both sides_ ,'" he repeats. "' _Of my life and who I hope I’ll become, without forgetting where I’m from_.'"  
  
Ed glares at him. "Pretty," he says through gritted teeth. "Famous poet number 5000, I assume?"  
  
Roy smiles. "Nope. Some girl living in Central. The library did a thing with local poets and made it into an anthology. I just thought the cover looked interesting." The cover didn't look interesting. It's blue and has a very artistic cover, but one of the newer librarians had recommended it the last time he was there, tirelessly searching for books that Edward hadn't already devoured.  
  
Ed's brow twitches, a sure fire sign that he's trying to raise it and failing. He settles for rolling his eyes after another minute twitch. "What's her name?" he sighs, collapsing back onto the pillows.  
  
"Rachel Couvillon! I have no idea who she is, but you really have to admit that her words ring a bell or five."  
  
Ed's lips quirk upwards, not quite a smirk, not quite a smile. "Poetry's supposed to resonate with the reader. That's kind of the whole point to it."  
  
"Still," Roy insists, leaning forward in his chair and stroking his finger down the line where Ed's flesh meets metal. Funny thing about automail, the bits where it touches skin are almost always warm to the touch, so Ed might have the coldest metal fingers in Central, but that particular area of his shoulder is almost always lukewarm. "It made me think of you."  
  
The look in Ed's eyes softens, so Roy forward the rest of the way and presses a kiss to Ed's metal collarbone, his breath fogging the metal. Ed makes a little noise in his throat, startled and wanting. It makes Roy smile, letting his lips drag across the metal until he's found skin. Another kiss there and Ed's breath catches in his throat.  
  
"How much longer until they let me out of the hospital?" Ed asks softly, tentatively reaching out to stroke Roy's hair.  
  
"Probably just until tomorrow."  
  
Ed's sigh is loud in the quiet of the hospital, Al having been bullied home a few hours ago. The boy still forgets that now his body actually needs things like food and rest. "Don't worry," Roy says, grinning as he presses one last kiss to Edward's skin. "I'll stay here to keep you company."


End file.
